This invention relates to compositions adapted to provide a desirable texture to fabrics. The compositions may be used in the washing step or the rinsing step of a laundry procedure as well as a separate treatment in the manner of a conventional sizing agent. Compositions are particularly useful when used in conjunction with the washing procedure desribed in the co-pending commonly assigned patent application of Rodney M. Wise and Sharon J. Mitchell (U.S. Ser. No. 839,221, filed Oct. 3, 1977) incorporated herein by reference. This washing procedure involves the use of mixtures of water insoluble solvents and solvent soluble emulsifiers in aqueous washing media followed by treatment with compositions incorporating a surface active agent to remove residual solvent from the fabrics. The compositions of the present invention may optionally contain surface active agents and thereby function as solvent stripping agents as well as providing fabric care benefits.
The use of smectite clays as softening agents and the characteristics of the clays effective for such use is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,537 issued Feb. 3, 1976, incorporated herein by reference.
The starch utilized in the compositions of this invention is gelatinized vegetable starch.
The combination of kaolin clay and starch is known for its use as a filler for textiles and for the filling and coating of paper. Kaolin type clays do not provide a fabric softening effect and are not within the required characteristics of the smectite clays of the present invention.
It is an object of the present invention to provide fabric care compositions containing smectite clays and gelatinized vegetable starch.
A further object of the invention is to provide fabric care compositions adapted for use in a cleaning and fabric care procedure in which fabrics are exposed to washing media containing water insoluble solvents. These and other objects are obtained herein as will be seen by the following disclosure.